The new 1.4-pound Sony Vaio PC will come with Microsoft's Windows Vista operating system, supporting all the software programs found in full-sized notebooks. It will sell for about $900, setting itself apart from netbooks.

Netbooks, pioneered by Taiwan's Asustek in 2007 and one of the rare bright spots in the electronics industry in recent months, are generally described as low cost, mini-laptops optimized for Internet use, and sell typically for $300 to $400.

Sony (NYSE: SNE) said on Wednesday the new notebook, which is as thin as a mobile phone, will be available for pre-orders on Thursday and be sold at major retailers in the United States beginning February.

During third quarter, HP's market share clocked in at 18.4 percent, barely changed from a year ago. Dell was in second place with a share of 13.6 percent, down 0.5 percent from last year, while Acer's piece of the market jumped to 12.5 percent from 9.7 percent.

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